It was lovely weather for ducks today at Musselburgh! Not only were there wigeon and teal on the Lagoons and goldeneye and red breasted mergansers on the Forth and at the mouth of the River Esk but also I saw my first ever long tailed ducks! Two very handsome males with such elegant long tails! All these are beautiful species of ducks - follow the links to find out just how beautiful!
I also saw a buzzard and a female kestrel flying around between Musselburgh Boating Pond and the Lagoons nature reserve.
On the Lagoons as well as the ducks there were a lot of bar tailed godwits, a few lapwings, a few knot and three grey herons. It's a while in fact since I've seen such a variety of birds on the lagoons, but I thought to myself, as I was sipping the last of my coffee, a short eared owl would just be perfect now! These owls hunt in the daytime and are quite frequently reported from the Lagoons, just that I've never seen one here.
Well I thought to myself after putting my flask away, I can't sit here any longer, I've seen plenty of birds. So I walked down the path and stopped to watch an adorable wee goldcrest that appeared in front of me and carefully showed me its yellow head markings. Then suddenly, a commotion in the trees, lots of blue tits making a lot of noise. Then wow! Right in front of me a short eared owl! Close enough that it almost stroked my face with its wings! Wow! I couldn't believe it!
As ever, red text contains hyperlinks that take you to other pages where you can find out more!
Congrats on both the Long tailed Ducks and the Short-Eared owl. Awesome birds and sightings! Have a great day!
ReplyDeleteYAY! This sure is a great time of year to watch for ducks! And congrats for seeing your first long-tailed ducks. Awesome!
ReplyDeleteThat's what happens Juliet - when yoiu are least expecting it. I see that waxwings have been seen on the east coast, so I am hoping they come inland.
ReplyDeleteOne good batch after another!
ReplyDeleteThat would have been awesome :) It is so hard to come across owls.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fertile birding ground Musselburgh is proving to be, Juliet. I've only visited briefly ... too briefly so far.
ReplyDeletewhat a gorgeous bird the long tailed duck is! can't wait to see one myself when I drive down the coast
ReplyDeleteLovely post, and I think bar tailed godwits has to be one of the best names I've ever heard for a bird :)
ReplyDelete